NASCAR Race Review: VFW 200

Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series raced the VFW 200 race at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday. 88 Matt Crafton, fastest in practice, starts on the Pole position with a speed of 177.489 mph and 40.566 seconds around the 2 mile D-shaped oval. 5 Todd Bodine starts next to him on the front row. This was Matt’s fifth career pole. Cup drivers, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, are the ones to beat for this race. Colin Braun is back in a Ford Truck, the 51.

The Trucks are five wide in turn 2. 88 Crafton leads from the pole. 60 Cole Whitt and 9 Max Papis get together with 9 getting into the wall. They both pit. 2 Kevin Harvick side drafts by 33 Ron Hornaday into second. 32 Mark Martin gets by 33 for third. The first caution comes out for debris. 60 Cole Whitt gets back onto the lead lap. 2 pits from second.

The second caution comes out for 22 Joey Coulter sliding into the wall and onto the grass. 5, 51 and 22 were three wide. 5 tried to force his way through the middle, bangs 51 and clips 22 sending 22 spinning. 6 Justin Lofton gets his lap back. For the restart, 88 and 32 are on the front row. 88 pulls away and 2 gets by 32. 2 and 88 battle for the lead and 32 takes second from 2. 9 has a tire rub. 18 kyle Busch gets by 2 for third. 88 and 32 battle for the lead and 32 takes the lead. 88 and 18 race side by side for second and 18 finally gets by.

32 pits and 3 Austin Dillon leads. 13 Johnny Sauter is loose and makes a pit stop. 3 pits and 18 leads. 18 pits and 6 leads before he pits. 22 leads. 32 is back in the lead after the Green Flag Pitting. 5 has the bumper guard dragging and gets Black Flagged. 18 is slow on the track and heads for the garage. The side glass from one of the trucks got into his radiator. 13 drives under 88. 88 runs out of fuel and is slow on the track. The third caution comes out. 32 and 3 are on the front row for the restart, 13 dives low and takes the lead. 32 takes the lead back with a push from 29 Parker Kligerman. 13 gets sideways.

The fourth caution comes out when 7 Miguel Paludo takes the air off of 13 and 13 slides into the inside wall. At the restart, 2 drives under 32 and 29 to take the lead. The fifth caution comes out as 2 takes the lead. 29 gets loose into 32 and they both spin with 3 on top with nowhere to go. 29 then can’t see with the hood up and smashes into 3 again. 13 comes in for repairs. 2 and 7 battle for the lead. 22 blows a tire, bringing out the sixth caution for debris. 5 Todd Bodine gets back onto the lead lap. This will be the first attempt at a Green White Checker Finish. 8 nelson Piquet, Jr. spins into the inside wall, racing 7. And the Caution and Checkered Flags come out. 2 Kevin Harvick wins his second NCWTS win in a row. He says “It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it.” This was his eleventh Truck win. He was followed by 17 Timothy Peters, 7 Paludo, 31 James Buescher, 81 David Starr, 23 Jason White, 33 Hornaday, 62 Brendan Gaughan, 51 Braun and 60 Whitt. In points, Sauter and Buescher move up a spot while Dillon moves down two spots into third. Peters, Whitt and Crafton stay in fourth, fifth and sixth. Hornaday moves up two spots into seventh while Coulter and Kligerman fall a spot. Bodine remains in tenth.